Let's take the Hartz, blue and orange squeaker-duck rope toy, for example. Within minutes of receiving it she had torn a hole in the so-called "for tough-chewers" fabric and was frothing at the mouth with cotton batting. (Yes, I am keeping an eye on that). She loves the rope part, the squeaker, and the fact that she can "kill" it by shaking it by its neck. I removed the remainder of the stuffing from the head after she'd ripped a hole in it, and now it's taken on a droopy-necked look which is rather comical. Eventually she also tore into the body, and now both the squeaker and the stuffing are all gone. What's left is this:
So that was the so-called "safe for dogs" toy. Now on to other amusements. Last Thursday I decided it was time for some garden weeding. (Not my strong point - I avoid garden care for as long as I can before shame strikes, company comes, or someone does me a kind favour). I had also given myself the handy procrastination excuse that I should keep the grass/weeds long to let Mika play in them, to cushion her little feet. I also thought that removing weeds would be a not-so-subtle permission for her to go ahead and dig up whatever she pleased. Indeed, once the weeds were freed from the earth, she went to town! Not only did she grab them and play with them, but she joyfully continued to burrow in the little pits of earth that were left by the fabulous weeder that my friends gave me as a house-warming gift. Here is a photo of just how big and dog-friendly some of those weeds were, and you can see why it was hard for her to resist joining in the weeding party.
So, all that is to say that nature provides her own entertainment, all for free. Mika also enjoys chewing on small rocks. This behaviour has caused me to contemplate my parenting skills (or lack thereof). Am I a neglectful parent for letting her chew things she could swallow? Should I be running out to get her another Kong toy (these, I must say, have held up the best so far) that is likely safer and will make her a smarter, healthier, more well-rounded pup? Am I a better parent for letting her commune with the natural world, and should I renounce those lurid, badly-dyed and easily-destroyed toys that I get so excited about purchasing? Ah, the dilemmas!
After weeding as much as I could of the backyard, I decided to cut the grass. However, my trusty Black & Decker weed whacker only whirred and whirled for about thirty seconds before I determined that it was out of trimmer line. Drats! Days and a trip to Home Depot later, (not to mention some more procrastinating), I was armed with a new spool of trimmer line. Now I only had to follow the instructions to replace it. That should really be easy enough, but I am the kind of person who balks at this type of task. It's the unknown, machine-oriented, and potentially dangerous nature of the beast that sends me into justifications of why I don't really need to cut the grass ever again. (Okay, it's not dangerous unless you do it with the power cord plugged in). Anyhow, the long and the short of it is that with the help of a more machine-oriented and industrious person than myself, the weed whacker has been re-spooled and the lawns are now cut. But more importantly, what that meant was that there was an empty plastic spool, about two inches in diameter, which became the new favourite on Mika's toy list...
Tune in to the next episode of Mika TV for a taste of more dog-toy fun!
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